Written Answers Tuesday 6 May 2008

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-11532 by Kenny McAskill on 2 April 2008, whether it will provide a breakdown by division of the number of detected breaches of byelaws which prohibit drinking in designated public places in the Lothian and Borders Police force area in each year since 1999.

Kenny MacAskill: The data held centrally is based on an aggregate return of crimes recorded by the police at a local authority level, and cannot be broken down to a lower geographical level. The available information is shown in the following table.

  Detected Breaches of Byelaws which Prohibit Drinking in Designated Public Places, by Local Authority within Lothian and Borders from 1997-98 to 2006-07

  

 Local Authority
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 East Lothian
 2
 6
 17
 5
 2
 6
 14
 72


 Edinburgh
 0
 0
 1
 4
 1
 0
 0
 1


 Midlothian
 12
 15
 13
 17
 7
 21
 84
 57


 Scottish Borders
 0
 0
 1
 0
 0
 2
 0
 0


 West Lothian
 30
 59
 154
 69
 100
 166
 107
 86


 Lothian and Borders
 44
 80
 186
 95
 110
 195
 205
 216



  Note: Because the byelaws have been introduced in different areas at different times, year on year comparisons cannot be made.

Arts

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-11844 by John Swinney on 18 April 2008, when it expects the list of artworks in government buildings to be completed; how the list will be publicised, and what the mechanism will be for members of the public to request to view selected works of art.

John Swinney: The list of artworks will be completed when resources allow. Publicity for the list has still to be determined but it will be published on the Scottish Government website. We do not envisage any formal mechanism for members of the public to view selected works of art. Requests will be handled by the facilities and estates division.

Carers

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether kinship carers who have been awarded a residency order by a court in respect of children for whom they care are ineligible for kinship care payments.

Adam Ingram: From 1999-2007, no payments were available to kinship carers where the child was referred to as "looked after" or subject to a residency order. As part of the concordat, a kinship carer of a looked-after child and approved by the local authority will be eligible for receipt of a kinship care allowance.

  A looked after child is subject to:

  A supervision requirement made by a children’s hearing under section 70 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, or

  A child accommodated by the local authority under section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, or

  An order made or authorisation or warrant granted by virtue of chapter 2, 3 or 4 of the Part II of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, or

  A placement made by a local authority which has taken parental responsibility under section 86 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (to be repealed shortly under the Adoption and Children Act 2007).

Carers

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many carers were receiving payments for kinship care on 30 November 2007, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many carers were receiving payments for kinship care on 24 April 2008, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals contacted the specialist information service for kinship carers between 4 December 2007 and 24 April 2008.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally.

Central Heating Programme

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Minister for Communities and Sport on 21 April 2008, how many installations under the central heating programme were completed in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2006-07 in each postcode area.

Stewart Maxwell: The number of installations undertaken by main postcode area in the private sector, as notified by the managing agents, Scottish Gas and Eaga Partnership, is shown in the following table:

  

 Area
 2006-07
 2007-08


 AB
 581
 983


 DD
 537
 893


 DG
 335
 460


 EH
 1,136
 1,693


 FK
 418
 675


 G
 3,194
 3,967


 HS
 224
 103


 IV
 306
 406


 KA
 802
 1,248


 KW
 66
 110


 KY
 529
 884


 ML
 883
 1,326


 PA
 771
 1,046


 PH
 214
 343


 TD
 184
 219


 ZE
 58
 22


 Total
 10,238
 14,377



  Notes:

  1. The managing agent contract transferred from Eaga Partnership to Scottish Gas during 2006-07, so the figure for 2006-07 includes installations undertaken by both.

  2. The figure for 2007-08 includes 172 installations undertaken in the private sector by local authorities, in addition to those undertaken by Scottish Gas.

Class Sizes

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in each local authority area in reducing P1 to P3 class sizes for the academic year 2008-09.

Fiona Hyslop: We have signed an historic concordat with local government under which local government undertakes to reduce primary 1 to primary 3 classes to a maximum of 18 as quickly as possible. Local government will be expected to make year on year progress towards the delivery of the class size reduction policy.

Class Sizes

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place to monitor the progress by local authorities in reducing class sizes year-on-year, as agreed in its concordat with local government.

Adam Ingram: The concordat states that the Scottish Government and local government will each do what is required to ensure the delivery of key government policies and programmes. Discussion is underway on a joint progress plan for the delivery of the concordant commitments including the reduction of class sizes in primary 1 to primary 3.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place to ensure that Community Health Partnerships fully utilise IT systems in order to support a more integrated approach to patient care.

Nicola Sturgeon: The new eHealth Strategy, currently being finalised, proposes a programme to improve availability and use of IT by nurses, midwives and allied health professionals who work in community settings.

Housing

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are currently employed by the Scottish Housing Regulator, broken down by location.

Stewart Maxwell: I have asked Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Housing Regulator to respond.

  Her response is as follows:

  The Scottish Housing Regulator currently employs 64 staff. All the employees are located in Highlander House, in Glasgow.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in relation to criminal prosecutions or appeals arising from them, it believes that, if a relevant document in a trial is available to the prosecution but not to the defence, the defendant would be able to obtain justice as defined in the UN Charter for human rights and that the terms of the charter would be fully met.

Right Hon Elish Angiolini QC: Disclosure is a vitally important aspect of criminal procedure in Scotland. The principal purpose of disclosure is to secure the fair disposal of criminal proceedings in accordance with the accused’s rights at common law and under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and to ensure that justice is done.

  The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service complies with Article 6 of ECHR in terms of the disclosure of evidence in criminal proceedings in Scotland. I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11311 on 2 May 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been since the law was changed regarding physical punishment of children by their parents.

Kenny MacAskill: Physical punishment of children cannot be identified separately from other types of assault recorded on the Scottish Government court proceedings database.

  Section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 provides for a defence in certain circumstances to a charge of assault in cases involving the physical punishment of children. This section also clarifies the circumstances in which physical punishment of a child will never be justified, and provides a non-exhaustive list of the factors which are to be taken into account by the court when considering whether such punishment in other circumstances is justifiable.

Justice

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place a copy in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre of the terms of its referral to the Scots Law Commission on corroboration in sexual offences.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Law Commission (SLC) have not been asked specifically to review the requirement for corroboration in sexual offences.

  In 2004, the SLC received a reference from the Scottish ministers to examine the law relating to rape and other sexual offences and the evidential requirements for proving such offences and to make recommendations for reform. The SLC published their final report on rape and other sexual offences in December 2007.

  However, the SLC concluded in that report that issues relating to the law of evidence, such as mutual corroboration and character evidence would be better considered across the whole spectrum of criminal offences and not solely in respect of sexual offences. Accordingly, the SLC did not make any recommendations with regard to reform of the law of evidence in sexual offences in their final report.

  On 20 November 2007, I wrote to the chairman of the SLC, inviting them to undertake a review of certain aspects of the law of criminal procedure and evidence. The terms of the proposed reference were as follows:

  "To consider the law relating to:

  Judicial rulings that can bring a solemn case to an end without the verdict of a jury, and rights of appeal against such;

  The principle of double jeopardy, and whether there should be exceptions to it;

  Admissibility of evidence of bad character or of previous convictions, and of similar fact evidence; and

  The Moorov doctrine,

  and to make any appropriate recommendations for reform."

  The chairman of the SLC responded on 20 November, accepting the terms of the reference. In his response, he indicated that the SLC would be interested to examine the operation of the Moorov doctrine in the context of an examination of the law of evidence more generally, including the requirement for corroboration.

Local Income Tax

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates that students in (a) East Ayrshire and (b) South Ayrshire would pay under the proposed local income tax.

John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12117 on 1 May 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Parliamentary Questions

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S3W-10619 which received a holding answer on 17 March 2008.

Bruce Crawford: Question S3W-10619 was answered on 25 March 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Prison Service

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether standard check-in and interview procedures exist in the Scottish Prison Service when new prisoners arrive at prison.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Standard prisoner admission procedures include searching, recording and storing prisoner property and cash, anti-suicide/self-harm procedures admission interviews, and healthcare screening by nursing staff on admission followed by a doctor’s assessment within the first 24 hours. Prisoners are also given an opportunity to contact family or friends on admission.

  These admission procedures are followed within 72 hours by a more in-depth core screening interview as part of the integrated case management process. This interview is normally conducted in the prison links centre and is used to identify issues such as housing, employability and substance misuse. There is also a national induction package which provides general information about prison regimes, supplemented by local information about the prison of admission.

Prison Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the staff sickness and turnover rates are for each prison.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The staff sickness and turnover rates for each prison during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 and working days lost through sick absence during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 are detailed as follows:

  Staff Turnover in Period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008

  

 Establishment
 Leavers
Staff in Post at31 March 2008
 Turnover Figures as a Percentage of SIP at 31 March 2008


 Aberdeen
 18
 130
 13.8


 Barlinnie
 31
 611
 5.1


 Central Stores
 1
 18
 5.6


 Cornton Vale
 21
 266
 7.9


 Dumfries
 11
 142
 7.7


 Edinburgh
 31
 400
 7.8


 Glenochil
 19
 392
 4.8


 Greenock
 8
 191
 4.2


 Headquarters
 29
 255
 11.4


 Inverness
 10
 111
 9.0


 Open Estate
 13
 157
 8.3


 Perth
 18
 408
 4.4


 Peterhead
 22
 181
 12.2


 Polmont
 18
 356
 5.1


 Shotts
 20
 371
 5.4


 SPS College
 2
 60
 3.3


 Total *
 277
 4,049
 6.8



  Note: There were five leavers from Low Moss which are not shown in the establishment breakdown but have been included in the overall totals.

  Working Days Lost Through Sick Absence in Period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008

  

 Establishment
 Working Days Lost
 Staff in Post at 31 March 2008
 Average Working Days Lost Per Person Based on SIP at 31 March 2008


 Aberdeen
 1,071
 130
 8.2


 Barlinnie
 7,223
 611
 11.8


 Central Stores
 34
 18
 1.9


 Cornton Vale
 3,179
 266
 12.0


 Dumfries
 1,480
 142
 10.4


 Edinburgh
 3,726
 400
 9.3


 Glenochil
 4,930
 392
 12.6


 Greenock
 1,782
 191
 9.3


 Headquarters
 1,143
 255
 4.5


 Inverness
 965
 111
 8.7


 Open Estate
 1,330
 157
 8.5


 Perth
 4,134
 408
 10.1


 Peterhead
 1,716
 181
 9.5


 Polmont
 4,091
 356
 11.5


 Shotts
 3,641
 371
 9.8


 SPS College
 405
 60
 6.8


 Total
 40,850
 4,049
 10.1

Prison Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the underspend or overspend is in the budget of each prison.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Budgets for establishments for 2007-08 are summarised in the following table:

  

 Establishment
Budget (£ Million)


 Aberdeen
 6.3


 Barlinnie
 29.3


 Cornton Vale
 11.6


 Dumfries
 6.2


 Edinburgh
 18.8


 Glenochil
 16.7


 Greenock
 8.1


 Inverness
 4.8


 Kilmarnock
 15.6


 Low Moss
 1.1


 Open Estate
 8.5


 Perth
 17.8


 Peterhead
 9.2


 Polmont
 15.5


 Shotts.
 16.5


 Total
 186.0



  Note: Final spend figures will not be available until the annual report and accounts for 2007-08 are published; this is currently scheduled for July 2008.

Prison Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits have been made by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland to each prison in the last year.

Kenny MacAskill: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, Andrew R C McLellan, made 44 visits to Scottish prisons between 30 April 2007 and 30 April 2008 as follows:

  

 Establishment
 No. of Times Visited


 HM Prison Aberdeen
 1


 HM Prison Barlinnie
 5


 HM Prison Castle Huntly
 3


 HM Prison and Young Offenders Institution Cornton Vale
 1


 HM Prison Dumfries
 4


 HM Prison Edinburgh
 3


 HM Prison Glenochil
 4


 HM Prison Greenock
 1


 HM Prison Inverness
 4


 HM Prison Kilmarnock
 5


 HM Prison Noranside
 2


 HM Prison Perth
 3


 HM Prison Peterhead
 1


 HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont
 5


 HM Prison Shotts
 2

Prison Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under the age of 16 there are in each adult prison.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  On 30 April 2008, there were two people under the age of 16 in the custody of the Scottish Prison Service, one in HM Prison and Young Offenders Institutions Cornton Vale and one in HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont.

Prison Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have moved from prison into employment in the last year, broken down by prison.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Jobcentre Plus provides a pre-release service to the SPS including details of the number of prisoners they are aware of who have gained employment within 13 weeks of leaving prison. The figures for 2007-08 are:

  

 Establishment
 Number Employed


 Aberdeen
 8


 Barlinnie
 2


 Cornton Vale
 18


 Dumfries
 1


 Edinburgh
 33


 Glenochil
 19


 Greenock
 3


 Inverness
 31


 Kilmarnock
 26


 Open Estate
 1


 Peterhead
 0


 Perth
 0


 Polmont
 32


 Shotts
 1


 Total
 175



  Note: In addition to Jobcentre Plus there is a number of initiatives supported by a voluntary organisations who work with prisoners from selected postcode areas prior to liberation. These include:

  The Routes out of Prison project who work with prisoners serving less than four years who are returning to selected West of Scotland postcodes:

  The Passport project run by Access to Industry who assist prisoners returning to the Lothians, and

  The Inside Out project run by Apex for prisoners returning to Tayside.

  The SPS does not hold data relating to employment success for these projects.

Prison Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners in each prison undertook (a) paid employment and (b) community work while in prison in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  In accordance with the Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2006 Part 9 Rule 82, every prisoner shall be required to work in prison except where excluded under the rules. A prisoner who undertakes work shall be entitled to be paid earnings at such rates and in accordance with such conditions as may be specified in a direction by the Scottish ministers.

  For establishments that participated in community work in 2007-08 the following table details by establishment the number of prisoners granted access to community work.

  

 Establishment
 Community Work


 HM Prison Open Estate
 440


 HM Prison Greenock
 43


 HM Prison Cornton Vale
 36


 HM Prison Shotts
 125


 HM Prison Perth (Friarton Hall)
 38


 HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont
 2


 Total Prisoner Participation
 684

Rail Network

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place with rail companies other than First Group plc before the decision was made to extend the ScotRail franchise and with which companies.

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used to justify the revision to the terms of the revenue-sharing scheme between it and First ScotRail.

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence was used to identify which services would be recommended for enhancement in the extension to the ScotRail franchise.

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits the extension to the ScotRail franchise will bring for rail passengers.

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions were held with passenger bodies prior to Transport Scotland agreeing the extension to the ScotRail franchise.

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive why it was necessary for Transport Scotland to enter into negotiations over extending the ScotRail franchise less than half way through the current seven-year term.

Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the ministerial statement which can be found in column 7712 in the Official Report of Thursday 17 April 2008. The Official Report can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/index.htm.

Rescue Service

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the present funding arrangements for mountain rescue teams.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government recognises the valuable contribution made by Scotland’s mountain rescue teams to the safety and wellbeing of the public. The voluntary service provided by team members ensures that many thousands of people can participate in outdoor activities safe in the knowledge that expert assistance is at hand should the need arise.

  The Scottish Government is committed to providing substantial levels of support to our mountain rescue service and funds totalling £300,000 will be provided to the mountain rescue committee of Scotland during 2008-09. We have no immediate plans to review the present funding arrangements.

Rescue Service

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish any review of the funding of mountain rescue teams.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12300 on 6 May 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website; the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

School Meals

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the uptake of school meals by secondary pupils has been in each year since the introduction of the Hungry for Success: A Whole School Approach to School Meals in Scotland initiative, broken down by local authority.

Adam Ingram: This information is published in table 19 of School Meals in Scotland 2007 , which is available on the Scottish Government website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/06/04134749/0.

School Meals

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the uptake of school meals by primary pupils has been in each year since the introduction of the Hungry for Success: A Whole School Approach to School Meals in Scotland initiative, broken down by local authority.

Adam Ingram: This information is published in table 13 of School Meals in Scotland 2007 , which is available on the Scottish Government website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/06/04134749/0.

Scottish Ministerial Code

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-6783 and S3W-7755 by Bruce Crawford on 3 and 20 December 2007, when the review of the Scottish Ministerial Code will be complete.

Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12133 on 30 April 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Scottish Ministerial Code

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make a statement to the Parliament on the review of the Scottish Ministerial Code, as agreed by the Parliament on 28 February 2008 ( Official Report c. 6538).

Bruce Crawford: The Scottish Government will bring forward a statement to Parliament on the review of the Scottish Ministerial Code when that review has concluded.

Students

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average earned income is of a student per financial year.

Fiona Hyslop: The latest data on average earned term time income of full-time students relates to the academic year 2004-05. The amounts were £1,693 for higher education students and £948 for further education students. The calculation includes students who do not work.

Students

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students work in paid employment.

Fiona Hyslop: The official source of information on the number of people in employment is the labour force survey (LFS). The LFS also collects information on whether people are currently studying. The latest available data from the LFS, relating to the period October to December 2007, estimates that 110,000 full-time students, including school pupils, were in paid employment in this period.

Students

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students earned over £5,225 in the 2007-08 financial year.

Fiona Hyslop: The exact number of students who earn over £5,225 in the financial year 2007-08 is not held centrally.

  However information from the 2004-05 students’ income, expenditure and debt survey shows that the average Scottish full-time student earned £1,693 during term time and only 25% earned amounts greater than £2,848. Full-time further education students earned less, £948 on average, with 25% earning amounts greater than £1,085.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Lifelong-learning/SIES.

  In combination these figures support the conclusion that the vast majority of students earn less than £5,225.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Cycling

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body why it does not operate the Department of Transport’s Cycle to Work Scheme and whether it has any plans to operate the scheme in the future.

Alex Johnstone: : The Environmental Performance Manager is currently carrying out a scoping exercise to ascertain exactly what would be involved in setting up such a scheme.

  The SPCB encourages the use of bicycles as a means of travelling to work and provides facilities to support this. In addition it will provide up to £400, which can be paid back in instalments over a 12 month period, to anyone on the parliamentary payroll who may wish to purchase a bicycle.